In the News

Online Platforms a growing threat to traditional advisers

“The reality is that I looked at 130-odd startups and some of them will fail,” said Grant Easterbrook, a Corporate Insight analyst and the report’s author. “There is an attrition rate, especially as they are tied to the market. If the market tanks due to the euro or the Middle East or quantitative easing, customers will flee to the sidelines.”

Mr. Easterbrook added, however, that the proliferation of startups highlights the longer-term trend of baby boomers being replaced by Generation X and Generation Y investors.

“When you look at those Gen X and Y investors, they’re not as interested in face-to-face meetings, and they have a lot of negative perceptions about the major financial institutions,” he said. “These people don’t trust the big wirehouses.”